Sport

Five all-Premiership clashes in Cup draw

English FA Cup Third Round Draw : FA Cup holders Arsenal were handed an away tie at struggling Premiership rivals Leeds United…

Mon Dec 08 2003 - 00:00

English FA Cup Third Round Draw: FA Cup holders Arsenal were handed an away tie at struggling Premiership rivals Leeds United when the draw for the third round of the competition was made yesterday.

Arsenal, bidding to become the first club since Blackburn Rovers 118 years ago to win the trophy three seasons running and the first to reach four successive finals, will start as overwhelming favourites following their 4-1 win at Elland Road in the league on November 1st.

Manchester United, FA Cup winners a record 10 times - one more than Arsenal - must travel to Aston Villa in a repeat of their third round tie of two seasons ago which United won 3-2. United will travel with added confidence after hammering Villa 4-0 at Old Trafford on Saturday.

In all, 10 Premiership teams will face each other.

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Manchester City play Leicester City in a repeat of the 1969 final which Manchester City won 1-0, while last season's runners-up Southampton meet Newcastle United and Birmingham City face Blackburn Rovers. Blackburn won 4-0 at St Andrew's on Saturday.

Premier league leaders Chelsea were handed a visit to first division Watford, who lost to Arsenal in the semi-finals last season, while eight-time winners Tottenham face a home derby against first division south Londoners Crystal Palace.

The romantics will relish the prospect of two ties, the matches between Yeovil Town and Liverpool and Sunderland against Hartlepool United.

Yeovil, promoted to the third division of the English League this season after decades as a feared minor league team, with 20 League scalps, have played Liverpool once before, losing 6-2 in the 1934-35 season.

Yeovil's most famous FA Cup win was a 2-1 fourth round victory over Sunderland in 1949 - but beating Liverpool would top that.

Sunderland will face a north-east derby against second division Hartlepool United, in the third round for the first time in 11 years.

One club hoping history will not repeat itself is first division Reading which must visit Preston North End. The teams' only previous FA Cup meeting on January 27, 1894 ended in an 18-0 victory for Preston.

(Ties to be played January 3rd-4th)